Trees on the former Carbochim platform, relocated to the IULIUS nursery to be part of the upcoming mixed-use project

More than 120 mature trees from the former Carbochim platform in Piața 1 Mai square have entered an ample relocation process early this year. The first 74 trees of the batch were already transplanted into the IULIUS nursery accommodated by the Horticultural Research Center of the Cluj-Napoca University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV), and they will ultimately be integrated in the new mixed-use project set to restore the former industrial area back to the city. The trees that could be preserved were selected after each tree was thoroughly analyzed in an arboricultural study conducted by Ph.D. Prof. Eng. Horia Dan Vlasin, from the Faculty of Forestry and Cadastre. The relocated trees species include linden, silver fir, European spruce, birch, walnut, red plum, sycamore, cedar, and magnolia. In total, the project will include more than 5 hectares of green spaces, 100,000 decorative plants and 600-plus mature trees, that are currently acclimating in the nursery based in Cluj-Napoca.

In mid-January 2024, IULIUS Company started the relocation process for the 120+ trees that could be salvaged from the former industrial platform. These represent 80% of the vegetation that existed in the former Carbochim area and that underwent an arboricultural study conducted by Ph.D. Prof. Eng. Horia Dan Vlasin, from the Faculty of Forestry and Cadastre with USAMV Cluj-Napoca. The relocated trees were determined as viable for transplantation following a thorough analysis of dendrometric parameters and characteristics, including shape or structural defects, height, diameter, pruned crown height, and other characteristics. “To date, 74 trees have been relocated from the former industrial platform into the IULIUS nursery accommodated by the Horticultural Research Center at USAMV Cluj-Napoca. The species include linden, silver fir, European spruce, birch, walnut, red plum, sycamore, cedar, and magnolia. The rest of the trees will be relocated gradually, as their safe extraction will be possible. The period when they were transplanted is optimal for such operations, as the plants are dormant, and their relocation is conducted without the process impacting the trees,” added Călin Revnic, horticultural engineer at IULIUS.

“Forest” with 600+ trees and 100,000+ decorative plans

The relocated trees will join impressive specimens of sycamore, linden, ginkgo biloba, chestnut, pyramidal oak, rubber tree, hornbeam, maple, mulberry, Judas-tree, liriodendron, metasequoia, that are currently acclimating in the nursery. These are mature trees, up to 13 meters high and up to 60 years old, so the benefits of the upcoming garden can be comparable to those of other older parks. “We remain committed to our goal to preserve as many of the existing trees on the former industrial platform premises as possible and integrate them in the park of the upcoming mixed-use project. This is a controlled process, carried out with support from local and international experts in the field. As was the case in our other developments that integrate ample parks, we are confident that the garden built from scratch in our new project will offer the community a green space that provides them with shade from the very first day, considering the impressive sizes of the trees,” said Sorin Guttman, Project Manager for the urban reconversion project.

The project proposes landscaped green spaces spanning more than 5 hectares, set to integrate more than 600 mature trees and another 100,000 plants of various sizes, selected to support the biodiversity of the project. 

IULIUS is recognized for the ample parks fitted out in its projects, which integrate mature trees, green areas, relaxation spaces, as well as facilities for promenade and for the organization of outdoor events. In total, IULIUS has developed 13 hectares of urban gardens in its mixed-use projects based in Iași, Timișoara, and Cluj-Napoca.

The urban reconversion development that IULIUS proposed to restore 14 hectares of predominantly inactive industrial areas back to the city, in the form of a project opened to the entire community and combining cultural, office, retail, residential, entertainment uses and an ample urban garden, is an integrated project aligned with the strategies set in the city development plan. The investment estimated upwards of half-billion Euro also proposes solutions for the systematization and restructuring of the vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the area: a new four-lane road bridge and two pedestrian walkways across Someș River, fitting out bicycle lanes, creating two roundabouts, upgrading and widening two streets, as well as fitting out three intersections and public transit stations in the Piața 1 Mai square area.